Thorns of Experience
by SlytherinBB07
Summary: "One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning." - JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL When Quinn Fabray is sent to live with a family friend, she learns there is more to friendship and family than she's ever known.
1. Beth

"One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning." - JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

**Follows Season One of Veronica Mars with some changes to romances, and additional plotlines.**

***Kendall is there already, and completely OOC from her portrayal in Season Two, please, please don't point this out to me, as I already know, I wrote her this way for a reason, and I'm not going to change it in anyway, thanks.**

**Season One of Glee is past, and cannon is mostly followed. Unless I say otherwise, assume that it happened the way it did in the show. After Season One, however, it is completely AU.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC's. Glee and it's characters is owned by Fox and it's creators, the same for Veronica Mars, and the music all belongs to the various artists and writers.**

**This will be updated at my leisure, mine, so don't be upset if it takes awhile. That being said, I am planning on updating at least once a month, more if I have insane muse attacks, but don't count on that, K?**

**Special Thanks to my amazing Beta and BFF hpbrat2, without whom nothing would ever get done. Luv ya my Good Twin.**

Key: "abc"- English dialogue

**abc*- Spanish dialogue  
*~*abc*~*- Spanish dialogue over phone  
~"abc"~ English dialogue over phone  
_abcd_- Text message

_*abcd*_- Spanish text message

**Chap****ter One: Beth- KISS (1976) & Glee (2010) - 3278**

_"Oh, Beth what can I do? Beth what can I do?"_  
Friday August 10th 2012

"Do you need any help?" Quinn looked up from the boxes scattered around her new room to see Kendall leaning against the door, arms folded over her chest, which was mostly exposed by the skimpy swim cover-up she wore over her barely there bikini. Suppressing the nearly ever-present urge she'd had for over a year, to either scream or cry, she took a deep breath and said no thanks. Kendall sighed and walked into the room, taking a seat on the corner of the naked mattress.

"Look Quinn, I know you're not happy with your mother's decision to send you to Neptune, and I know you have legitimate reason to be upset with her. This is a big change in your life, right on the heels of an even bigger one. To be blunt, this completely sucks, but-"

"Yeah, it does!" Quinn interrupted loudly, "It sucks that the woman who looked the other way every time my asshole of a father hurt me, when he finally kicked me out of _my_ home, leaving me to mooch off of my friends, not able to even get to school on my own. That the woman too fucking _weak _to be called a _mother_, still has enough control over my life to send me 3,000 miles away from the only family I've ever known to live with her equally idiotic sorority sister and her spoiled, selfish step-family. Seriously, who needs a four story house for a family of four?" Quinn took a deep breath, wiped away the few tears that had managed to escape, then continued more sedately. "Yeah, that really sucks, but the thing is, I'm Quinn Fabray, head bitch in charge, and I can handle anything this world can throw at me, so, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of unpacking and organizing to do before dinner." She finished, turned her back to Kendall and opened the nearest box, resolutely ignoring the three boys that must have appeared in the doorway during her rant.

"Quinn..." she was surprised to hear honest emotion in Kendall's voice, which caused her to turn enough to see that Kendall had stood up, tears in her eyes. Kendall opened her mouth to continue when she was interrupted by a wailing cry.

"That's my cue." Quinn said, then pushed her way past the boys she'd not yet been introduced to and went into the adjacent room. "I'll take it from here." she told the Latina woman in a maid's uniform, who was holding a screaming, squirming bundle wrapped in a pale pink blanket. Quickly handing the child over to Quinn, the woman, Maria, spoke quickly in Spanish, surprised when Quinn responded in kind. She sat down in the rocking chair next to the beautifully painted crib and began unbuttoning her shirt as Maria left, closing the door behind her. Looking down at the miracle in her arms, Quinn knew that what she'd told Kendall was true, she could handle anything that came to her, so long as she never had to let go of her little girl. Smiling, she began singing as her daughter nursed.

_"Beth, I hear ya callin'..."_

A knock on the door interrupted Quinn's musing as she burped Beth.

"Come in." she called, looking up as Kendall opened the door.

"We were thinking of doing Chinese for dinner today, is that ok?" Kendall asked, tentative, obviously afraid that Quinn would blow up again.

"Yeah, that sounds great, lots of ham fried rice please." she answered. Kendall simply nodded, and began to back out of the room.

"Kendall?" Quinn spoke before the door shut.

"Yes?"

"I- I just- I just wanted to apologize for my outburst earlier. I-"she said, staring at Beth's sleepy face, slightly ashamed. Not of _what_she'd said, like 'Tana, she was a firm believer in always speaking the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it made things. No, she was ashamed that she'd taken out her anger and frustration on someone who'd obviously only wanted to comfort her, who seemed to genuinely care about how she was handling everything life and her mother had thrown at her. Quinn thought she'd learned that lesson with glee last year, but of course she had to go and prove herself wrong at the first opportunity. "I shouldn't have-"

"It's fine, Quinn." Kendall said, "I understand the things you must be feeling right now. No, I've never been in your exact situation." she was quick to add, raising her hands in surrender as Quinn's head whipped up. "But I do know what it feels like to be completely uprooted, not really knowing a single person around you. It's not exactly what most people would refer to as fun." Quinn laughed bitterly, agreeing, and she'd only been here for less than a day. "I just want you to know that you do have a friend here. I know that there's no way I could possibly replace your friends back home, what was it your mother called them? The Devil's Trio, and your glee club, Nude something or other?"

"The Unholy Trinity and New Directions." Quinn corrected laughing hard enough to earn a squeak of complaint from Beth, Kendall laughed as well.

"You'll have to explain the backstory for both of those names to me someday, alright?" Quinn nodded. "Anyway, I know it's not the same, but I want you to know you can always, _always_, talk to me, ok?" Kendall asked seriously, staring straight at Quinn, not breaking eye contact until Quinn said ok.

"Good, now that that's settled, what do you say to being properly introduced to your other housemates before dinner?" Kendall asked with a big grin on her face, an evil spark in her eye that had Quinn feeling wary as she stood up and followed Kendall down the hall to the stairs, and down two levels, through the kitchen, and outside to the patio beside the pool. Moving Beth to her other arm, Quinn noticed that the three boys she'd seen earlier were all lounging in chairs by the side of the pool wearing only baggy swim trunks and sunglasses. It made her feel slightly overdressed in her short jeans and red short sleeved button up, that feeling quickly changed to a fervent desire for more clothing when the bleached blond whistled at her, taking off his sunglasses to leer at her. Glaring, Quinn pulled Beth closer to her, covering her delicate skin with the blanket, a gift from Mercedes, protecting her from the evening sun.

"Shut up, Dick." Kendall said as she smacked the back of his head as she walked past, "Boys, this is Quinn Fabray, the daughter of one of my best friends, she'll be staying with us for awhile. Quinn, these are my lovely step-sons, Richard Jr. aka Dick, and this is Cassidy." She said pointing at the bottle blond, and the smaller brunette, who nodded to her kindly.

"Beaver!" Dick and the other boy shouted simultaneously, earning a glare from both Kendall and Cassidy.

"The annoying mooch over there is Logan Echolls." she waved an uncaring hand in Logan's direction. He didn't take offense however, but seemed to puff up with pride, a huge grin spread over his face.

"Nice to meet you HB." he said, sitting up a bit to look at her. Quinn tilted her head in confusion until he said, "Head Bitch, right?" he asked, a look of completely fake innocence on his face.

"Damn straight." Quinn answered, not showing any real emotion despite the fact that she was furious that he'd brought up such an obviously private and somewhat painful moment so nonchalantly, especially since he shouldn't have even been present at the time. "Nice to meet you too, mooch." Logan laughed.

"I'm no mooch, Kendall just doesn't like the fact that she had to settle for Mr. Casablancas because Aaron Echolls is _happily_married." Kendall huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Who?" Quinn asked, confusion lacing both her tone and expression. She enjoyed the dumbfounded expressions on all four faces, hilarious as they were.

"You're joking right?" Dick asked, Quinn shook her head. "He's Logan's dad." he said as though that explained everything.

"How do you not know who Aaron Echolls is?" Kendall asked, "He's only the star of several top selling movies of the last twenty years." Quinn shrugged.

"Were any of them musicals? No? I've never been one for movies, I prefer plays and musicals when I have time to watch something. Dance movies also make the list." she explained. Luckily, she was saved from anymore questions as Maria called them to eat. A few minutes later the food was dished up and everyone had started to dig in when Logan, sitting next to Quinn, looked over and smirked.

"So, I think we missed an introduction back there guys." he said, taking a bite of cashew chicken, then motioned toward Beth when everyone but Quinn looked at him in confusion. She froze for a second before once again adjusting Beth to her shoulder. Kendall and Cassidy looked at her in concern while Dick, oblivious to the tension, continued to shovel food into his mouth. Deciding to alleviate it instead of add to it (yeah, right) Quinn pasted her best bitch smile on and turned to face Logan dead on.

"This is my daughter, Beth Fabray Puckerman. Would you like to hold her?" she asked, fake kindness dripping like acid from her tongue. Logan raised his eyebrows, looking at her in appraisal and gave a slight nod. From jackass to bitch the communication was correctly interpreted as a sign, of a measure of respect. His eyes then moved to Beth, who Quinn was holding out towards him, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"No, thanks. Not really into kids." he said.

"Oh, come on. I insist. It's not like it's rocket science, just cradle her head, and make sure you don't drop her." Quinn said, enjoying his discomfort as he looked to the watching Casablancas family and then to the challenge in her eyes. A moment passed as he made up his mind.

"Alright, fine, for a minute." he held his hands out, Quinn leant forward, carefully placed Beth's now awake head in the crook of Logan's arm, made sure he had a good hold on her before letting go of her three month old daughter. The now familiar pang in her heart from not having her in her arms was even sharper at seeing her in the arms of another person. Quinn gently stroked her thumb across Beth's lower lip, sighed, and once again wished that she was back in Lima, closer to her true family, her support group, New Directions, and most importantly her baby daddy.

"What did you say her name was?" Logan asked quietly, Quinn smiled without looking away from her tiny face.

"Beth. Her name is Beth."

"What made you pick that?" Cassidy asked, speaking for the first time since they'd been introduced. Just then Beth opened her eyes and gurgled a happy gurgle and Logan gasped in surprise, which caused Quinn to look up. Her smile grew at the fear she saw in his eyes, it was similar in nature to the fear she knew was in her own eyes the first time she'd held Beth, though very different levels, she was sure.

"First time holding a kid, huh?" Quinn asked gently, Logan nodded. "You're doing fine. Believe me, she'd let us know if she wasn't comfortable, she's got her daddy's temper and my lungs."

"So you know who the dad is?" Dick blurted out, earning himself another slap to the back of the head, this one administered by Cassidy. "What the hell was that for?" Quinn shook her head in exasperation, realizing that Dick was never going to understand anything about the word tact.

"Do you think I chose the name 'Puckerman' because it's pretty?" She asked sarcastically, earning a chuckle from Logan, Cassidy, and Kendall. "No, her father's name is Noah Puckerman. He's still back home though. Oh, to answer your question Cassidy, Puck chose the name, he was trying to apologize for... well, for several things really, and came across the Kiss song, _Beth_, he and a bunch of our friends sang it to me and he suggested it as an option if I decided to keep her. The song's kind of become her lullaby." Quinn said, her eyes once again landing on her daughter's face.

"That's really sweet. I've always liked that song." Kendall said, a small smile on her face.

"So where is home for you anyway?" Cassidy asked.

"Lima, Ohio. It's a fairly small town near Columbus." Quinn answered, taking another bite.

"Why'd ya get sent away? Just 'cuz ya got knocked up?" Dick once again put his foot in his mouth, barely dodging a third smack as Quinn rolled her eyes. "What is this?! Pick on Dick day?"

"The official story is that my _mother_ felt my decision to raise my daughter myself instead of giving her up for adoption would impact my life even more negatively than my pregnancy, so she sent me to her favorite sorority sister so that I could have a brand new life without 'Teen Mom' stamped on my forehead." Quinn scoffed. "That's complete bullshit, of course. She just couldn't stand the fact that I wasn't going to go back to being the 'perfect' princess that she always thought I was, when she realized that her nagging wasn't going to change how I acted, she came up with this brilliant plan to kick me out again, without _actually_kicking me out this time." The Casablancas brothers exchanged wary looks, unsure of what to say to this, Logan looked up from Beth's face for a brief moment to see Quinn wiping away a single tear, though her voice had given no indication of emotion, resignation and sarcasm the only things in her tone.

"Quinn..." Kendall started warningly.

"You disagree?" Quinn asked sharply, challenge unspoken but certainly heard, Kendall sighed, shaking her head in defeat. "That's what I thought."

"Alright, let's move on, shall we? This isn't a funeral people." Cassidy said, after several moments of tense silence. "Quinn, you said earlier that you enjoyed plays and musicals, do you have a favorite?"

"Hmm, I'd have to say it's a tie between _Wicked_ and _Rocky Horror_. Completely different, but both fantastically written and they have amazing music. What about you? Do you have a favorite musical?" Quinn jumped into the conversation, this was something she could talk about without it leading to any awkward questions.

"Well, I can't say I've seen many, but Kendall made us watch _Hairspray_a couple weeks ago, and I thought it was decent. The social commentary was hilarious, even if it was really cheesy." Cassidy answered, then rolled his eyes at Dick's fake gagging.

"God, that movie was the worst thing I've ever seen in my life." He said, "I seriously wanted to stab my eardrums with a toothpick every time the fat chick started singing."

"I adore that show, although I agree that the lead's voice wasn't as... Hmm, what's the word? Ah, soothing, as it could have been. Rachel rearranged _You Can't Stop The Beat_last year, and with her voice on lead it was just amazing." Quinn said in an attempt to keep the peace between the two brothers.

"Here, you wanna take her back?" Logan asked, "I think she's asleep." Quinn reached over and gently took Beth out of his arms, tucking the blanket tighter around her as the sun had started to set and it was getting a bit colder.

"That's pretty much all she does right now, but she's freaking adorable even then." Quinn answered, Logan chuckled, and rolled his eyes.

"So, who's Rachel? I don't think you've said anything else about her." he asked, as he leant back in his chair, arms folded behind his head.

"Rachel Barbara Berry is the female lead of the Glee club at McKinley, and she'll be a star on Broadway by the time she's twenty-three, she's got it all worked out." Quinn smiled, remembering her one time enemy with fondness.

"Is this New Directions?" Kendall asked, Quinn nodded. "I think I'll take that story now." Kendall said, a grin on her face.

"New Directions? What's that?" Cassidy asked.

"It's the name of the Glee club, and sorry Kendall, but there's really not a story behind the name, Mr. Schue's the one that came up with it. I have no idea why or how, although I think it was something about inspiring us and the rest of the school to broaden our horizons, or something cheesy like that." she answered, the explanation making her miss Mr. Schue and his usually failed attempts at teaching them valuable life lessons.

"Yeah, that was disappointing." Kendall said, her face drawn in an exaggerated pout, Quinn laughed and Logan smirked. "What about the other one? Is there a fun story there?" she asked hopefully.

"What other one?" Logan asked. "Another club?"

"Sort of, yeah. Although we are not accepting any new members, sorry. The Unholy Trinity is already complete." Quinn laughed at the look of confusion on the boys' faces, then hurried to explain. "Santana Lopez, Brittany S. Pierce and myself have been best friends since, oh, kindergarten, we did everything together, I spent more time at their houses than I did my own. That's how I know Spanish, and a little bit of Dutch. We got the nickname in Jr. High when one of the jackasses in Brittany's class made her cry, Santana and I put our heads together and came up with a plan to get him back and let everyone know that if they messed with one of us, they dealt with all of us. I can't go into specifics, but in the end, 'Tana and I both had two weeks of detention, the boy transferred schools, and the three of us were known as The Unholy Trinity  
from then on."

"Wow. Not exactly what I was expecting, Q. What exactly did you do to that poor boy to make him transfer schools?" Kendall asked while the boys eyed Quinn with a newfound respect and slight fear.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss it. I'd have to put it to a vote with the Trinity to get permission and I honestly don't see it happening." Quinn answered, dead serious.

"Ok, I'm confused, what exactly is a Glee club?" Dick asked, either unaware or not worried about the looks of disbelief being thrown his way by everyone but Logan, who looked like he was wondering the same thing.

"It's just another term for show choir." Quinn answered, which caused Logan and Dick to burst into laughter, Cassidy chuckled a bit, and shook his head. "Ok, what, _exactly_, is so funny?" she asked, she already knew the answer, but hoped she was wrong.

"You- you were in- show choir!" Dick stuttered out between guffaws, holding his side.

"Yes, I was, and while I don't have the benefit of years of training like Rachel has, or the amazing natural ability to learn music in minutes like Mercedes, I'm not half bad, and New Directions is absolutely amazing, they'll take Nationals this year, no doubt about it." Quinn spoke angrily, defending her family, sad that she'd ever been as narrow minded as these boys sitting with her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a video chat scheduled in an hour and still have some unpacking to do." she walked away, the sound of Kendall scolding them, and Logan yelling at her to come back drowned out by Dick's laughter.


	2. Getting To Know You

**Chapter Two: Getting to Know You- The King and I (1951)- 2202**  
**"Getting to know you, getting to kn-ow all about you."**

**AN: Thanks so much to those of you that reviewed, you're fantabulous! This is kind of a filler chapter, taking a peak at New Directions, and their drama, also, it's from Logan's POV, so tell me what you think of that. Should I bring his/others POV into it more, or leave it at Q's? Let me know, luv ya, and enjoy the chapter.**

**Friday Sept 7th 2012**

Logan wasn't really the guilt-feeling type, not when it came to stupid high school things anyway, he did what he wanted, and screw the rest, but for some ridiculous reason, he felt really bad about laughing at the new girl. It's not like he really cared if she liked to sing or not, but show choir was such a joke, how could he not laugh. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to apologize, so before leaving Dick's house, he made his way to the third floor.

Approaching her room, he saw that her door was open, and heard an unfamiliar voice coming from inside.

"God, Q. Quit your damn whining." a female voice scolded, reaching the door, Logan saw that it was a Latina girl talking to Quinn over Skype, rolling her brown eyes. "I mean, seriously, you're in California for fuck's sake. So what if you have to live with assholes who think Glee is lame. Newsflash, Glee is lame. Amazing, and freaking awesome, but lame regardless." she said, and Logan smirked as Quinn laughed, rocking Beth who looked to still be asleep.

"Alright, fine, that's true. I still don't want to be here, California or not. I miss you guys already." Quinn said, then laughed as the girl mocked her, wiping away a fake tear. "Bitch."

"Damn straight." the girl agreed, sounding proud, though she sobered quickly. "We miss you too, of course. Berry said something about making a video for you, I tried to get the details from her so I could nix the idea if I needed to, but SheJew isn't talkin' till she has all her plans in order." Logan frowned in confusion at the nickname, but was quickly distracted.

"Well, so long as it's not the performance of Push It, I think I'll be okay." Quinn replied, and the girl snorted. "So how's Brittany? In fact, where is she? I thought she was gonna chat with us." she asked, and the girl rolled her eyes with a fond smile on her face.

"She's busy yelling at Lord Tubbington about his drug habits again, should be done in a minute." Logan was even more confused at the unfamiliar name, wondering why they'd call a friend Lord, and why she'd be rolling her eyes at a friend with a drug problem. Before he could think much about it, the girl was tilting her head, and looking behind Quinn's head, directly at him. "Who's the hunk?" she asked.

Quinn turned to see him leaning on the door jamb, and he smirked at her, glad that even over a shaky Skype connection he looked good. She rolled her eyes, and turned away from him answering the girl.

"That's the jackass I was telling you about." she said, as the image on the screen bounced, a blond girl coming into focus, climbing on the bed and leaning up against the Latina, Quinn greeted her with a large smile on her face. "Hey BritBrit."

"Hi, Q. Why's there a donkey in your bedroom?" she asked.

"He apparently doesn't know how to knock." Quinn answered before he could say anything. "Logan, come meet the other two-thirds of the Unholy Trinity." she ordered Logan, moving a little to the side of the bed, adjusting Beth in her arms, and he pulled the desk chair over to sit next to her. He wondered briefly if he should leave the room instead.

"Hey, you should have Quinn teach you how to knock, she taught me." Brittany offered sincerely, and both Santana and Quinn smiled, and Logan opened his mouth to ask her what her problem was as Quinn elbowed him in the ribs.

"Brittana, this is Logan Echolls. Apparently his dad's famous." Quinn introduced him to the girls, and Logan rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was some groupie getting all stalker-like.

"Oh, who's your dad?" the Latina asked, eyebrow raised.

"Aaron Echolls." He said, just barely keeping the bitterness out of his tone. She tilted her head to the side, thinking for a second before shaking her head.

"Don't think I've ever heard of him." she shrugged, "Whatever." And for the second time that day, Logan felt himself internally jump for joy. Another person who'd never even heard of his dad, let alone worshiped him.

"Miracles do happen." he answered wryly, ignoring the raised eyebrows on both the girl and Quinn.

"Anyway, Logan, the Latina Devil is Santana Lopez." Quinn said as Santana gave a little wave, smirking. "And the girl falling asleep is Brittany S. Pierce." Brittany waved as well, yawning, as something registered in his brain.

"Hey. Did I just hear you call them Brittana?" he asked Quinn, and she nodded, "Why?" she just shrugged.

"Because, we do that in Glee. Give couples names that are a combination of their names." Brittany said, before yawning again.

"Wait, couples?" Logan asked, smiling roguishly, a series of images forming in his mind.

"Yeah, couples. Like Quinn and Puck were Quick, and Quinn and Finn were the Inns. Puck and Rachel are Puckleberry, Britt and I are Brittana." Santana said, eyes daring him to say something, he shook his head, really who was he to say two hot girls couldn't get it on?

"Quinny! I almost forgot to tell you, Kurt met someone!" Brittany said, cuddling closer to Santana, who put an arm around her and rubbed her arm, allowing Brittany's head to fall onto her chest. Quinn leant forward eagerly at this, and Logan couldn't help but wonder who Kurt was.

"Didn't you mention him at dinner?" he asked, before she could say anything.

"Yeah, Kurt Hummel, Lima's resident capital G- gay, male soprano, and forever looking for love in all the wrong places." Quinn responded, rapid fire.

"Like the rest of New Directions, huh?" Santana snorted, and Quinn tilted her head in acknowledgement.

"Some of us, but tell me about the boy. He is gay, right? Please don't let it be another Finn situation." Quinn begged, looking skyward.

"No, he's not a Finn, that's for damn sure. His name's Blaine, he's gay, and he's a freaking hobbit like Berry. Kurt's head over fashionable men's footwear for him." Santana pauses, and Quinn groans.

"There's a but, isn't there?" she asks, and Logan leans back in the comfy desk chair, content to just sit and listen to the gossip. It's interesting to see how this works outside of Neptune, here it's all about the dirt, any caring is completely faked, and no one gets any real sympathy for the pain they might be feeling, doesn't seem like that's true of these three.

"But..." Santana says, pausing again, taking a deep breath. "He's the lead singer of the Warblers." she says, raising her eyebrows like that's somehow significant. Apparently it is, if Quinn's groaning and slumping back onto her pillows is any indication.

"Let me guess, you're going to be up against them at Sectionals." she says disappointed, and Santana nods seriously.

"What's the big deal?" Logan asks, confused.

"The Warblers is another Glee club." Santana answers as Quinn shushes a waking Beth. "They're pretty good, too. Quinn, I sent you some videos on Facebook, you should check them out. The Blaine kid's got some pipes, and a heap of sex appeal that even has me all hot and bothered."

"I'll watch them after we sign off."

"Ok, try to curb the insults, but I'm still not seeing the problem." Logan says, earning twin glares from Quinn and Santana as Brittany smiles.

"Don't worry guys, they're ducks." the blond says, and Logan has trouble keeping his utter confusion from his face, especially when the other two gasp in shock.

"Are you sure Brit? I mean, they just met each other, what yesterday? It couldn't have been long, I mean, I got on a plane this morning." Quinn said, and Logan tried to work out what was going on.

"Actually they met two weeks ago, and have been getting coffee almost everyday since then, Kurt just told us an hour ago." Santana says, obviously annoyed that she'd been out of the loop, one of the few thing about this conversation Logan could understand.

"Wow." Quinn said, moving Beth to her other arm, looking at Logan and bursting into laughter.

"What's so funny, Q?" Santana asks, running her hand through Brittany's hair.

"Logan's just lost. Sorry, but the look on your face is just priceless." she said, and Logan glared at her.

"Well, do you wanna just keep laughing, or explain? Seriously, why does it matter if he's in a singing group? And what the hell do ducks have to do with it?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry. The problem is he's dating the competition, and that's a big no-no, especially after Rachel and Jesse-St-Asshole." Santana explained as Quinn nodded vigorously.

"And even if he's not as horrible as Jesse was, it can put a serious strain on any relationship to be on opposite teams." Quinn took over the explanation, and Logan nodded.

"So, wait, you guys actually compete?" he asks incredulous, he's only ever seen their show choir perform at assemblies.

"Yes, there are actual competitions, Sectionals, Regionals, and Nationals, the winners school get some funding for the arts and a great big trophy. I told you, New Directions is taking Nationals this year." Quinn answered.

"Damn right we are. Berry's already started daily rehearsals, thank god Schue vetoed the summer program she'd planned." Santana relied, and Brittany yawned widely, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Seriously honey, are you getting enough sleep?" Quinn asked, looking at her, worried. Santana shook her head, smirking slightly.

"Sorry, Q. I kept her up a lot later than normal last night, and we've been doing chores all day, so she's kinda tired." she explained, and Quinn held up a hand.

"Stop right there, that's plenty of information. You just make sure that this isn't a repeat of midterms freshman year." she said, which made Santana's eyes widen.

"You know what, Q? You're right. I know it's still kinda early, but I think we're gonna sign off, talk to you tomorrow?" she asked, and Quinn nodded.

"Goodnight, Brittana, miss you."

"Night, Q, I miss you, too." Brittany said, eyes closing.

"Night." Santana said before Quinn's screen went black. Logan smirked as Quinn looked at him, eyebrow raised.

"What?" he asked.

"Just trying to figure out what you want." Quinn responded.

"Hey, I just wanted to say goodnight, you're the one who invited me into your bedroom." his smirk widened as she rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, what do you want?" she asked, turning to her computer and logging onto Facebook. Logan suddenly felt really awkward, he'd never really apologized before, at least, not when he meant it.

"I, uh, just wanted to say I was, uh, sorry." he stuttered out, rubbing the back of his neck, and was ashamed to feel his face heat up as Quinn looked up at him, disbelieving.

"For what, exactly?" she asked, a smile playing at the edges of her mouth.

"Well, for, uh, for earlier. You know, the whole laughing about show choir thing." he said, completely regretting allowing himself to have a conscience.

"Oh, yeah, that. It's ok, 'Tana was right, you can think it's lame, especially since you don't understand what it's really about." Quinn replied, clicking on something. Logan tilted his head, confused.

"What's it really about then?" he asked, finding it strange that he really wanted an answer. Quinn looked at him for a long moment. Then apparently finding something she was looking for, she smiled.

"According to Schue, 'Glee is about opening yourself up to joy', but to me, it's about acceptance, love, building yourself a family. In Glee, it doesn't matter if you're gay or straight, black or white, christian or jewish or atheist. All that matters is that you're there, giving it your all for the performance, helping each other, and being proud of who you are." she said, getting a far off look in her eyes, pulling Beth tightly to her chest, and to Logan, it sounded like some kind of heaven, something he wasn't sure really existed, but that he wanted anyway.

"Sounds nice." he said simply, deciding he didn't want to go home quite yet, and smiling when Quinn didn't kick him out. Instead, she just hit play on a video entitled Dalton Warblers- Bills, Bills, Bills Cover and stretched out, moving her laptop so they could both see it. She explained what Brittany meant by ducks, and he told her that this whole singing thing looked like it could be fun, even if it was ridiculous.

When Beth started fussing two hours later, she finally kicked him out, going into the nursery to feed the tiny creature he'd held earlier. That was another thing that he hadn't expected when he woke up today, he'd held a baby. A baby girl that couldn't weigh more than 10 pounds, and had looked at him, looked at him and fallen asleep in his arms, trusting him to keep her safe. Maybe he was overthinking it, but for some reason, that fact made him smile more than anything else had in the last year.


	3. Money, Money, Money

Chapter Three: Money, Money, Money- ABBA (1976)& Mama Mia (1999)- 3153  
"Money, money, money, must be funny, in a rich man's world. Money, money, money, always sunny, in a rich man's world."  
Saturday Sept 8th 2012

The next day after unpacking the last of the clothes from a box labeled "Costumes", Quinn turned her attention to a much more unpleasant matter: Budgeting. She placed Beth in the pink, crown covered sling that Puck had bought for his "Princess" that allowed her to carry her while still having full use of her arms, and went in search of Kendall. She finally located her in the lounge on the second floor reading a magazine while Dr. Oz rambled on about some new supplement.

"Kendall?" Quinn said, causing her to look up from her reading, "Can I talk to you about something?" Kendall immediately put down the magazine, and grabbed the remote, turning the television off as well.

"Of course, honey. What's up?" she asked, kindly. Quinn took a deep breath.

"This is a little uncomfortable for me, but I know it's a necessary topic." she began, "I know that my mother is sending you money every month for letting me stay here, I need to know how much she's sending so that I can create a budget to live on. She's already sent my car out, it should be here later today, so transportation's not going to be an issue, but I need to know what I can afford. Beth's already outgrown half of her clothes, and diapers are expensive, as is formula, which I'll need to buy more of once I start at Neptune High on Monday." Quinn paused to breath and gather her thoughts, realizing that she had been rambling. "Anyway, I refuse to be a burden, so I need to know what kind of budget I'm looking at." Kendall nodded.

"I'm impressed with your initiative, Quinn, most kids wouldn't care how much anything cost, especially when the money for it is coming from someone living across the country." she stated with a small, proud smile.

"I have a kid now, I can't really act like one. Besides, I've never been normal." Quinn said.

"I was actually going to talk to you about this sometime tonight. Your mother and I have worked out a deal of sorts. Instead of sending me money every month, I've offered to let you live and eat here for free," Kendall held up a hand, stopping Quinn's protest, "that's all though. Housing and food. Anything else will need to be paid for by you." Again Quinn opened her mouth this time to complain, to explain that she didn't have anyway to pay for anything, but Kendall continued quickly. "The money that your mother has set aside every month will instead be going into a bank account under your name, one that I've cosigned for."

Kendall grinned, as Quinn stared at her, dumbfounded, wanting to ask how she'd gotten her mother to agree to that, instead she asked, "What- what, exactly, does that mean?"

"Well, it basically means that once the money's in the account, you'll be the only one that will have access to it." Quinn felt her eyes widen, her mother couldn't take it away after she'd put it in? It had to be too good to be true, right? "My co-signing simply means that if you go into debt and are unable to pay it back, I'll cover it." Kendall explained.

"Do you have the information for the account?" Quinn asked, barely allowing herself to hope that this was actually going to work out.

"Yes, of course, follow me." she led her into an adjacent office, and pulled a file out of the cabinet behind the desk. "Here we go. The account number is here, and we've got a checkbook, box of more checks, and your credit and debit cards." she said, pointing out the items, and a specific number on the page. "The credit card only has a limit of two-thousand dollars, and you'll be fined if you go over. The debit card acts like a cross between a credit card and check, it only works if you have money in your checking account. Any questions?" Kendall explained, most of it Quinn already knew, but it was still nice of her to tell her so she didn't have to go looking herself. A two-thousand dollar credit card limit? That was four times as much as her old card had been.

"Is there anything in it right now? And do you know when my mother is planning on putting the money in every month?" Quinn asked, taking the folder and box of checks in one hand, still a little shocked at the fact that she wouldn't have to ask Kendall for money every time she needed to buy something.

"She's already put this next month's in and I believe she's got it setup to automatically deposit the same amount on the first of every month. Let me know if it doesn't show and I'll deal with it. Ok?" she asked. Quinn nodded, speechless for a moment.

"Thank you so much, Kendall." she said, finding her voice. "I have no idea how you did this, but it means the world to me, you have no clue how much I dreaded the thought of having to ask you, or-or anyone for money. Just- Thank you." Quinn gushed, causing Kendall to laugh and wrap an arm around her shoulder.

"Nothing to thank me for, honey. It's your money, do what you need to with it. I only have one stipulation."

"Oh? What's that?" Quinn asked, hesitant to agree without knowing what it was. Kendall grinned.

"Have a little fun with it once in awhile!" Quinn laughed, but agreed.

Two hours later, after putting Beth down for an official nap, and looking over the account information, Quinn was sobbing into her arms, balled up paper strewn around her room. No matter how much she scrimped, or penny pinched, she couldn't find anyway to pay for a nanny with the amount of money her mother was allowing her. There was no way she was going to ask Kendall for help, someone to talk to was one thing, handing out money on top of allowing her and her two-month-old to live in her house for free was asking too much of the woman.

She sure as hell wasn't going to ask her mother to send more. She'd be forced to beg and then agree to attend some function, and her mother would hold it over her head for at least another year. Not happening. Unfortunately, that meant that she couldn't see a way of making sure Beth was taken care of during the day without dropping out of school, which was not in anyway an option.

**What's the matter sweetheart?** Quinn looked up to see Maria standing behind her, she wiped some of her tears off of her cheeks, and slowly explained the situation, having to stop occasionally when her sobs got the better of her. The first time this happened Maria placed an arm around her shoulders in comfort and it stayed there through the rest of her explanation.

**I just don't have any idea what to do** Quinn told her, speaking into her shoulder. After a moment, Maria muttered a vague curse and made a suggestion.

**I send my kids to a fairly inexpensive daycare a few blocks from my home, if you want, I can give you the phone number of the woman who runs it. It's not in the 09 zip code bu-**

**You're amazing!** Quinn interrupted, throwing her arms around the maid, **Seriously, you're officially my favorite person in Neptune! I so don't care what zip code it's in, so long as I can afford it without going into debt every month! God, you rock Maria! Thank you, thank you, thank you!** she exclaimed before jumping up and grabbing her phone, **What's the number, and her name? I'll call her right now and see if I can go by later today to properly introduce myself.** Quinn asked, looking expectantly at Maria, who barely held back a grin at her exuberance.

**Her name is Celia Navarro.** Maria said, then rattled off the number, which Quinn quickly tapped into her phone, placing it to her ear after hitting send. She began to pace around her room as it rang.

*~*Hello?*~* a female voice answered.

*~*Hello, is this the Navarro residence?*~* Quinn asked politely, not realizing they were conversing in Spanish.

*~*Yes, who is this?*~*

*~*Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Quinn Fabray, and I'm trying to locate a Ms. Celia Navarro.*~*

*~*This is she.*~*

*~*Oh, hi! As I said, my name is Quinn and I've just recently moved to Neptune, and I'm looking into daycare for my daughter. My friend Maria Alvarez referred me to you, she said you were the best. I was wondering if I could come by sometime this afternoon and we could set things up, if you're willing?*~* Quinn explained, not seeing the look of surprise on Maria's face when she referred to her as a friend.

*~*Of course, any friend of Maria's. Come by anytime, do you have the address?*~* Celia asked kindly.

*~*I don't actually.*~* Quinn replied, Celia quickly told her, and she wrote it down on a scrap of paper that had survived her breakdown. *~*Thank you, I'll probably be by between two and three o'clock if that's ok?*~*

*~*That sounds perfect, be sure to bring the little one, I like to meet them as soon as possible.*~* Celia asked.

*~* Of course. Thank you so much, I look forward to meeting you officially, I'll see you in a few hours?*~*

*~*Absolutely, I'll keep an eye out for you, goodbye.*~*

*~*Goodbye.*~* Quinn hung up, a second later she was jumping up and down and screaming at the top of her lungs. "Yes! Oh my god, Maria, thank you! This is exactly what I needed! Thank you!" She wrapped her arms around her again, giving her a surprisingly strong bear hug, pulling away enough to make eye contact, "Seriously, thank you. I owe you one." Maria brushed it off, saying it was nothing, then excusing herself so she could get back to work.

**Things are about to get interesting around here.** Maria muttered under her breath as she left the room, Quinn clearing up her paper mess behind her.

An hour later Kendall walked into Quinn's room, found it empty of both girls, and went in search of them, starting in the nursery. She quickly learned that there was a need to knock if the door was closed.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, as she covered her eyes, and nearly ran into the doorframe in her haste to get out of the room. Quinn laughed, but covered her chest with one of Beth's blankets.

"All clear Kendall!" she shouted so Kendall could hear. "Goodness, you act like you've never seen breasts before." she said as Kendall reentered the room cautiously.

"Breasts, I've seen. Nursing? Not so much." Kendall explained, stepping further into the room, a little uncomfortable.

"Women have been doing this since the beginning of time, Kendall, it's nothing to be embarrassed by." Quinn said, lifting the blanket so she could still see Beth, but Kendall couldn't see, well, her.

"Yeah, well..." Kendall cleared her throat. "I actually came looking for you to tell you that your car just arrived at the airport, it should be here in about twenty minutes."

"Awesome, that's perfect timing. I've got a meeting at a daycare at two to try to get Beth in before Monday. I'm glad I'll be able to take my car. The carseat's still in the garage, right?" she asked, lifting Beth up to the burpcloth on her shoulder and gently patting her back to get the air bubbles out of her digestive tract. Kendall looked surprised.

"Daycare? Why not get a private nanny?" she asked.

"Because I wasn't able to fit it into my budget. Not without going into debt or not having money for anything else." Quinn explained, "The carseat is still in the garage then?"

"Yes, I think so. Quinn, I really wouldn't mind-"

"No." Quinn interrupted. "No, you're not paying for a nanny. I'm going to do this on my own, as much as I can at least. I refuse to be a charity case, ok? Just, no." Kendall sighed.

"Alright Quinn, we can try it your way for now, but if anything happens to change your mind about this daycare I want you to promise me you'll come to me. Ok?"

"Ok." Quinn said, rolling her eyes as she placed Beth's mouth to her other breast, still under the blanket.

"I'm serious Quinn. I know you two have only been here for a couple of days now, but I've already grown attached to the both of you, I don't want anything bad happening, especially not if I can prevent it. Promise me." Quinn looked up from Beth's face, looking directly into Kendall's eyes, surprised by the depth of emotion in them.

"I promise." Quinn said, knowing that it was one promise she wouldn't have any trouble keeping.

"Thank you." Kendall said, relieved. "I'll leave you to it then. Let me know if you need anything, ok?"

"I will, don't worry." Quinn agreed, "And Kendall? Thanks."

Kendall nodded, smiled softly, and shut the door behind her.

"The destination is ahead on the left." The voice from Quinn's GPS directed her to stop across the street from a small house that was obviously lived in, the paint faded, the green-brown lawn covered with children's toys. Quinn smiled as she saw a twenty-something-year-old herding five or six kids out of the house to play in the yard. Quinn got out of the car and walked around to the passenger door, about to get Beth out and place her in her Princess sling, when the noise of several motorcycles pulling up around her caused her to look up.

"You lost, chica?" One of the bikers asked her in a rough voice after pulling off his helmet and turning off his bike, most of the others quickly followed suit.

"I don't believe so, no. This is the Navarro residence, correct?" Quinn asked, as she leaned her back against the open passenger door, completely at ease. She addressed the man that had spoken, a well built Hispanic with a shaved head and leather jacket.

"Who wants to know?" he asked, as he moved his leg over the bike to stand directly in front of her, a few inches taller than her, causing her to look up to meet his eyes. As Queen of Intimidation Techniques, Quinn recognized his, and refused to show any form of weakness, despite being surrounded by a dozen tough bikers who were all muttering extremely disrespectful comments about her in Spanish.

"My name's Quinn Fabray, I'm here to speak to Celia Navarro about putting my daughter in daycare. You are?" she asked, bitch smile firmly in place, her tone cold as she ignored her body's instincts and turned to pull Beth out of the carseat. One of the bikers decided that it would be a good idea to rev the engine of their motorcycle, which startled Beth causing her to wail loudly. Quinn shhed her and glared at the offending boy, rocking back and forth on her heels, trying to calm Beth.

**She has a kid? No way does she look like she'd ever been knocked up.** Quinn worked to control her temper, not wanting to give up her advantage just yet. Though for the second time in as many days, she found herself wishing she'd worn more clothing. She was wearing one of her favorite blue halter dresses, it cut off just above the knee and cut down fairly low in the front, with a large jewel at the junction of her breasts. Her hair was pulled up in a loose ponytail with several pieces having fallen out, framing her face, she wore no makeup or jewelry, except for her ever-present cross, which hung around her neck.

**Felix! Knock it off, man. Show a little respect. You too, Thumper!** the man who'd been speaking to her shouted above the noise of the bike, which earned him some points in her book. Immediately the bike was off, and 'Felix' mumbled a half-hearted apology to the man.

"Sorry about that, chica, she ok?" he asked her, his voice a bit softer than it had been previously. Chivalry, not completely dead, Quinn noticed and decided on a slightly different tactic, smiling genuinely she assured him Beth was fine.

"Thank you." She said, as she leaned back down to grab the diaper bag, having decided to forgo the sling, Beth was holding her head up fairly well on her own, so holding her wasn't as much of a juggling act as it could have been. "You know, I still don't think you've given your name." she spoke, maintaining eye contact, forcing herself not to flinch at some of the comments his little followers were making. They reminded her painfully of the insults hurled at her in the hallways of McKinley during the majority of her pregnancy.

She chose instead to focus on the leader, even without the little display of power it was obvious to her that he was the one in charge. He was the only one speaking in English, and had been the one to approach her. She couldn't yet tell if his position was in an official capacity or not, but it was real regardless. He smirked at her, also refusing to break eye contact, before he waved his hand over his head in some sort of symbol that his boys obviously understood, causing them to groan in weak protest. Despite their disdain, they put their helmets back on and followed Felix down the street. Quinn and the man continued their stare down, both rejecting the desire to watch the bikes leave, she instead raised her eyebrow expectantly, waiting.

"Name's Weevil." He said finally, as he held out a gloved hand, which she took, though she couldn't help the look of disbelief on her face.

"Not to be rude, but please tell me that's a nickname." she said, which made him laugh, a deep resonating sound that Quinn was perfectly content to admit did funny things to the butterfly's in her stomach.

"Yeah, it is. Given name's Eli Navarro, most people call me Weevil." he explained.

"I think I'm gonna go with Eli, if that's ok?" she said, smiling brightly as she swung Beth's diaper bag over her shoulder, and shut the door to her car. "This is the house, right?" she smiled and began to walk towards the house, when he nodded. "Oh, Eli?" she said, turning to look at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah?" he asked, brow raised at her attitude.

**Next time you wanna let your boys talk about a woman that way, make sure she can't understand them.** she winked and turned back, enjoying the stunned silence behind her.


End file.
